A Few Days In Boulder

I recently returned from a visit with my Colorado kids, Phil, Deb, Lennon and Elsa.  I had to cancel my trip in June due to shingles and then skin cancer.  Both kids were sick when I  arrived this time, but Phil and Deborah thought they were on the mend, but that turned out not to be true.  They were sick most of the timeI was there.  Sleeping was an issue for both of them, but we still managed to have a great time.  Elsa, at 7 1/2 months, is really a little person now.  She's so happy, loves being entertained by her big brother, always with a smile on her face.  She's crawling everywhere, and into everything, but she's really an easy baby.  Lennon turned 3 in August, and it seems like overnight, is talking a blue streak.  Of course he mimicks what he hears at home, so his language is pretty sophisticated.  He's still a bit hard to understand, but my guess is that in the next few months I won't need an interpreter. 

Since the kids were sick, we stayed home most of the time, and had a few delicious meals, just thrown together last minute by Phil.  I don't have the recipe for the soup Phil made on the day of my arrival, but I will describe it because it was that good.  Phil had some beef broth that he had sitting on the stove that he had made from bones and marrow, so it was dense and delicious.  He chopped finely some carrot, onion, celery, halved some tomatoes, chopped kale, and added small beans, cut up sausage, several herbs (he doesn't remember!) including a bay leaf.  He cooked this thick soup for 20 minutes, spooned it into a bowl, and topped it with a fried egg.  Who would have thought of that?  Certainly not me.  It was just delicious, so good in fact that I ate the remaining soup for lunch the following day, when we had leftovers.  He is such a creative cook and he always surprises me. 

Ron and I had bought Lennon a set of Lincoln Logs for his birthday, so I spent much of my time helping him build a cabin.  Elsa is just happy with a pot from the cupboard to push around.  Deborah is so sleep deprived, and try as I might to get her to lay down and take a nap, I couldn't.  Well, every stage of child rearing has its challenges, and this too shall pass.  Lennon starts prechool, which should help a lot. 

I have several more recipes from my vacation to share with you, but at another time.  Unfortunately Phil is not one to write down his recipes, so when I ask him for a recipe,  nothing is ever very specific.  So, I've got to try them all before blogging about them.  Look for a few recipes within the next few weeks.